Super 16 Matchup Sends Butler to Purdue Fort Wayne

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Butler and Purdue Fort Wayne will meet in the WNIT Super 16 Friday night with the Mastodons hosting the action inside the Gates Sports Center. The 7 p.m. tip on ESPN+ will feature in-state rivals meeting for the first time five years.
 
GameDay
Date: Friday, March 28, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Location: Fort Wayne, Ind. – Gates Sports Center
Live Stats: GoMastodons.com (Sidearm)
Watch: ESPN+
 
Bulldog Bits
– Butler has advanced to the WNIT Super 16 for just the second time in program history.
– Butler’s 61-54 win over UIC went down as the program’s sixth WNIT win in program history.
– Butler is playing in the WNIT as an at-large selection for the second-straight year.
– Butler, UConn and Villanova are the only BIG EAST teams still playing games in March.
– The Bulldogs have won a game in March in back-to-back years for the first time since 2018-19.
– Butler had 18 assists and just 10 turnovers in their seven-point win over UIC.
– Ari Wiggins had a team-high four assists and just one turnover in 28 minutes vs. UIC.
– Lilly Stoddard recorded a career-high three assists vs. the Flames.
– BU limited UIC to just 13 points in three of four quarters and held a lead for 37 minutes on Sunday.
– Butler shot 51 percent in the Second Round WNIT win, making 25 of their 49 shot attempts.
– Lily Zeinstra has led Butler in scoring four times this year. 16 points vs. UIC was her third-highest scoring output this season.
– Sydney Jaynes only missed two shots vs. UIC to end the game with 15 points.
– Jocelyn Land scored eight of her 13 points against UIC in the first quarter.
– Land and Zeinstra each took a career-high 10 shots vs. UIC.
– All seven active Bulldogs scored a field goal for the team in the first half vs. UIC.
– BU ranks second in the BIG EAST in bench points per game (20.0).
– The Bulldogs rank third among all BIG EAST teams in rebound margin (+2.6).
– Butler ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in both field goal percentage (42.6) and 3-point percentage (33.3).
 
Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne                                                                   
The Mastodons reached the Super 16 by defeating Old Dominion 87-61. It has been a special season for PFW with the 2024-25 team setting new program records in wins (26), points (2,583), field goals (940), 3-pointers (318), and steals (330). They were dominate at home, going 14-1 at the Gates Sports Center but also set a program record with 11 road wins. Head Coach Maria Marchesano played at Butler and finished her career as one of the best 3-point shooters in Bulldog history. Her 2024-25 team has one of the best 3-point shooters in the country on the roster in Lauren Ross. The Michigan State transfer has made 47.5 percent of her 3-point attempts and is a 94 percent free throw shooter. Ross leads the team with her 15.4 scoring average. Sydney Freeman and Amellia Bromenschenkel also average double figures, scoring 11 points per game.
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                
The Bulldogs are 8-4 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne. This series began in 1976 with the Mastodons winning the first matchup 64-46. Butler’s first win came in 2004 at Hinkle Fieldhouse by the final score of 62-60. The last meeting came on Dec. 22, 2020 with Butler coming out on top 85-58.
 
Old Dominion at PFW – Round 2 Recap                                              
Purdue Fort Wayne blew open a tied game in the third quarter, outscoring Old Dominion 24-7 in the frame before wrapping up the victory and a spot in the Super 16 of the 2025 Postseason WNIT. PFW scored 29 points in the final 10 minutes to breeze to the win. Audra Emerson scored 17 points; Lauren Ross had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Mastodons and Amellia Bromenschenkel scored 14 points. Jordan Reid added 13 points and Jazzlyn Linbo scored 12 points.
 
UIC at BU Round 2 Recap                                                                           
The Bulldogs advanced to the Super 16 of the 2025 Postseason WNIT with a 61-54 victory over the UIC Flames on Sunday afternoon. Butler was led by Lily Zeinstra, who scored a game-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Sydney Janes added 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Jocelyn Land added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting to round out the scoring for Butler. As a team, Butler shot 51 percent from the field, including 63.6 percent in the deciding fourth quarter, while UIC shot 38.9 percent from the floor.
 
Watch on ESPN+                                                                                             
Friday night’s game at the Gates Sports Center will stream on ESPN+.
 
McGuff Named Second Team All-BIG EAST                                     
Kilyn McGuff was selected to the 2024-25 All-BIG EAST Second Team after a vote from the conference head coaches. McGuff averages 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game to lead the team in each category. She ranks second in the BIG EAST in double-doubles (11), ranks fifth in rebounds per game (7.9), sixth in minutes per game (33.6) and 10th in free throw percentage (77.0). She has led BU in scoring 12 times and in rebounding 24 times!
 
McGuff Logging Serious Minutes                                            
Kilyn McGuff has played 1,110 minutes for Butler this year, that’s 255 more than any other Bulldog. The only BU player to start in all 33 games, McGuff placed her name in the Butler record book on Sunday after logging 32 minutes of playing time against UIC. Her 1,110 minutes this year are the sixth-most by any Bulldog in a single-season. McGuff just passed Butler Hall of Famer Mary Majewski for sixth and can pass Tori Schickel (1,126) for fifth if she plays at least 17 minutes in her next game. McGuff has played 30+ minutes in 20-straight games and played a season-high 47 minutes in a double overtime game against Wisconsin.
 
WNIT Wins                                                                                                         
Butler has played 14 games in the WNIT, collecting six wins along the way. They recorded a 95-90 victory in their first appearance back in 1998 but would not make it back until 2009 when they defeated Duquesne (59-58). Butler accepted bids to the tournament in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 but did not win a game during that stretch. All of that changed in 2019 when they defeated Northeastern (89-72) and Kent State (70-52) at home before falling at Cincinnati in the Super 16. Just one year ago, BU returned to the WNIT postseason tournament and posted a 75-63 win over Bowling Green before being eliminated by Purdue.
 
Signature Wins                                                                                                
Butler’s best two wins of the season came against Indiana and Marquette. The Hoosiers lost to the Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Nov. 13 by the final score of 56-46. IU moved forward to win a game against Utah in the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated by top-seed South Carolina. The Golden Eagles lost to Butler by two at Hinkle on Feb. 9 and would accept a bid to the WBIT for postseason play. They defeated Drake in their first game, but were eliminated by James Madison in the second round.
 
Kilyn Reached 1,000 Career Points                                                       
Kilyn McGuff reached 1,000 career points in the second half of Butler’s game at #6 UConn. She scored a team-high 17 against the Huskies to move her career total to 1,006. She has scored 409 points as a Bulldog and had 723 over her previous three years at Belmont.
 
What’s Missing?                                                                                             
Caroline Strande and Jordan Meulemans are both out for the season. Meulemans was sidelined just days before Butler’s first game and Strande suffered a season-ending injury on Dec. 29 vs. Seton Hall. Strande was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection last year and became the first Bulldog in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists during the same season. Meulemans averaged 8.1 points per game last year and made 61 3-pointers, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.
 
Up Next                                                                                                               
The winner of Friday night’s game between Butler and PFW will move on to the Great 8 of the WNIT to play either Duquesne (21-12) or Cleveland State (25-9). The Dukes edged Longwood 70-68 in Round 1 and went to Miami Ohio in Round 2 to defeat the RedHawks 73-66. The Vikings received a First Round bye and then beat Coppin State 72-70 to reach the Super 16.